Care labelling for upholstered furniture: consumers’expressed needs and preferences

Abstract

The issue of care labelling for upholstered furniture has been debated by U.S. government officials and furniture manufacturers since 1974. While the Federal Trade Commission in 1982 voted not to include upholstered furniture in a move to extend coverage to products other than apparel, they did order a continuing investigation into this area. FTC officials solicited an opinion from industry representatives on the necessity of providing care labels for upholstered furniture at this time; however, they did not seek consumer input. An investigation into consumer preferences for care labelling on upholstered furniture was needed. This study was designed in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a market survey to assess the availability of written care information on upholstered furniture at a local level. The second phase was a mail survey of consumers that collected data on expressed needs and preferences for upholstered furniture care labelling.